European Communities (Internal Market in Natural Gas and Electricity) (Amendment) Regulations 2015

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 16/2015
• Year: 2015

CONTENTS

Regulation

PART 1

Preliminary and general

1. Citation and commencement

2. Interpretation

PART 2

Unbundling of gas transmission systems and gas transmission system operators

3. Scope of Part 2

4. Prohibition of certain transfers and sharing services

5. Interpretation — Part 2

PART 3

Certification and designation of gas transmission system operators

6. Requirement to apply for certification

7. Certification and designation of gas transmission system operators

8. Decision in respect of certification

9. Designation of gas transmission system operators

10. Certification in relation to third countries

PART 4

Gas transmission system operator to prepare national ten-year network development plan

11. National ten-year network development plan

PART 5

Unbundling of electricity transmission systems and electricity transmission system operators

12. Scope of Part 5

13. Prohibition of certain transfers and sharing services

14. Interpretation

PART 6

Certification and designation of electricity transmission system operators

15. Requirement to apply for certification

16. Certification and designation of electricity transmission system operators

17. Decision in respect of certification

18. Designation of electricity transmission system operators

19. Certification in relation to third countries

PART 7

Powers of Commission and enforcement

20. Definitions — Part 7

21. Commission — powers and obligations

22. Commission — complaints

23. Commission — powers of enforcement

24. Commission — application to court for compliance order

PART 8

Consequential amendments to natural gas and electricity legislation

25. Amendment of Gas Act 1976

26. Amendment of Electricity Regulation Act 1999

27. Amendment of Gas (Interim) (Regulation) Act 2002

28. Amendment of European Communities (Internal Market in Electricity) Regulations 2000

PART 9

Revocations

29. Revocations

S.I. No. 16 of 2015

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (INTERNAL MARKET IN NATURAL GAS AND ELECTRICITY) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2015

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 23rd January, 2015.

I, ALEX WHITE, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) and for the purpose of giving further effect to Directive 2009/72/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 20091 and Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 20092 , hereby make the following regulations:

PART 1

Preliminary and general

Citation and commencement

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Internal Market in Natural Gas and Electricity) (Amendment) Regulations 2015.

(2) Regulation 29(2) comes into operation on the network transfer date.

Interpretation

2. (1) In these Regulations—

“Act of 1976” means Gas Act 1976 (No. 30 of 1976);

“Act of 1999” means Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (No. 23 of 1999);

“Agency” means the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators established by Regulation (EC) No 713/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 20093 ;

“authorised officer” means an authorised officer appointed under section 11 (as amended by section 44 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 (No. 50 of 2013)) of the Act of 1999;

“assets” means any legal or equitable estate or interest (whether present or future and whether vested or contingent) in real or personal property of any description (including money), and includes securities, choses in action and documents;

“Commission” means the Commission for Energy Regulation;

“control” means any rights, contracts or any other means which, either separately or in combination and having regard to the considerations of fact or law involved, confer the possibility of exercising decisive influence on an undertaking, in particular by—

(a) ownership or the right to use all or part of the assets of an undertaking, or

(b) rights or contracts which confer decisive influence on the composition, voting or decisions of the organs of an undertaking;

“court” means the High Court;

“customers”, in relation to a gas transmission system, means wholesale customers and, where the context so requires, includes final or end customers;

“determination” means determination under section 25 of the Act of 1999;

“distribution system”, in relation to natural gas, means a system for the transport of natural gas through local or regional pipelines with a view to its delivery to customers;

“Electricity Market Directive” means Directive 2009/72/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 20091;

“Electricity Market Regulation” means Regulation (EC) No 714/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 20094 ;

“electricity transmission system operator” has the meaning assigned to “transmission system operator” in point (4) of Article 2 of the Electricity Market Directive, and includes an interconnector operator;

“Ervia” means the body formerly known as Bord Gáis Éireann;

“gas transmission system” means a system for the transport of natural gas through a high pressure pipeline, other than an upstream pipeline, with a view to delivering natural gas to customers;

“gas transmission system operator” has the meaning assigned to “transmission system operator” in point (4) of Article 2 of the Natural Gas Market Directive;

“interconnector operator” means the holder of a licence under section 14(1)(i) of the Act of 1999;

“LNG” means liquefied natural gas;

“Minister” means the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources;

“Natural Gas Market Directive” means Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 20092;

“Natural Gas Market Regulation” means Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 20095 ;

“network transfer date” means the date appointed by the Minister in accordance with section 15 of the Gas Regulation Act 2013 (No. 39 of 2013);

“operate” includes maintain and develop;

“publish” includes publish on the internet;

“system user” means a natural or legal person supplying to, or being supplied by, a transmission or distribution system;

“ten-year network development plan”, in relation to the gas transmission system operator, means the national plan prepared and submitted, or required to be prepared and submitted, in accordance with Regulation 11;

“third country” means a country which is not a member of the European Union;

“vertically integrated undertaking” means—

(a) an electricity undertaking or group of electricity undertakings where—

(i) the same person is, or the same persons are, entitled, directly or indirectly, to exercise control, and

(ii) the undertaking or group of undertakings perform at least—

(I) one of the functions of transmission or distribution of electricity, and

(II) one of the functions of generation or supply of electricity,

or

(b) a gas undertaking or group of gas undertakings where—

(i) the same person is, or the same persons are, entitled, directly or indirectly, to exercise control, and

(ii) the undertaking or group of undertakings perform at least—

(I) one of the functions of transmission, distribution, LNG, or storage of natural gas, and

(II) one of the functions of production or supply of natural gas.

(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Natural Gas Market Directive or the Electricity Market Directive has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in those Directives, as the case may be.

PART 2

Unbundling of gas transmission systems and gas transmission system operators

Scope of Part 2

3. (1) This Part shall apply to all undertakings which own or operate a gas transmission system in the State.

(2) Each undertaking that owns a gas transmission system shall be, and act as, a gas transmission system operator.

(3)(a) Where 2 or more undertakings which own gas transmission systems have created a joint venture that acts as a gas transmission system operator in 2 or more Member States for the gas transmission systems concerned, it shall be deemed to be a gas transmission system operator for the purposes of paragraph (2).

(b) No other undertaking may be part of the joint venture, referred to in subparagraph (a), unless it has been approved under Article 14 of the Natural Gas Market Directive as an independent system operator or as an independent transmission operator for the purposes of Chapter IV of that Directive.

(4) The same person or persons shall not directly or indirectly—

(a) exercise control over an undertaking performing any of the functions of production or supply of natural gas, and

(b) exercise control or any right over a gas transmission system operator or a gas transmission system.

(5) The same person or persons shall not directly or indirectly—

(a) exercise control over a gas transmission system operator or a gas transmission system, and

(b) exercise control or any right over an undertaking performing any of the functions of production or supply of natural gas.

(6) The same person or persons shall not, while directly or indirectly exercising control or any right over an undertaking performing any of the functions of production or supply of natural gas, appoint—

(a) members of the board of directors of,

(b) members of the bodies legally representing, or

(c) persons responsible for the management of,

an undertaking which is a gas transmission system operator or is a gas transmission system.

(7) The rights referred to in paragraphs (4), (5) and (6) shall include, in particular, the following:

(a) the power to exercise voting rights in an undertaking;

(b) the power—

(i)...